Guns N' Roses Play Cover Live for First Time Ever (And It Sounds a Bit Different)

Guns N' Roses played a cover song live for the first time ever last night (May 27) during their show in Abu Dhabi, and it sounded a bit different from their original rendition of it — in a good way!

The rockers recorded a studio version of the New York Dolls song "Human Being," which appeared on their covers album The Spaghetti Incident? back in 1993. While most of the songs on the album were originally recorded by punk artists, the New York Dolls — and singer-guitarist Johnny Thunders — were especially influential for Duff McKagan.

"His influence spans the generations and – think what you will of him – but his songwriting is emotive and powerful. Those songs are what it's all about. His music has risen to the top and it’s totally timeless," the bassist told Kerrang! in a feature.

Last night was the first time Guns ever tackled the song live, though they took a bit of a different approach from the studio version, as Axl Rose sang it entirely in his lower register.

"I've been wanting them to play this for so long, I thought his current voice suits this song so good and damn he sounds great," a fan wrote in a comment on a Reddit thread.

READ MORE: The 8 Guns N' Roses Songs I Hope They Play on Tour in 2025

In addition to "Human Being," the band dusted off one of their own tracks for the first time in nearly seven years during the set, "Used to Love Her" from GN'R Lies. The last time they performed it, according to Setlist.fm, was in December of 2018, and they've played almost every year since then.

Check out fan-filmed footage of both songs below. Guns' next show is set for this Friday (May 30) in Shekvetili, Georgia. See the rest of their 2025 tour dates on their website.

Guns N' Roses Play 'Human Being' for First Time Ever (2025)

Guns N' Roses, 'Used to Love Her' (Live 2025)